Photographic Thoughts — 03/19/2023 to 03/25/2023

You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.” — Joan Miro

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

Sunday, 03/19/2023: Posted photo — Laetare Sunday.

From the Catholic Dictionary: “The fourth Sunday of Lent, when the introductory word of the Introit is laetare, “Rejoice O Jerusalem.” As it is Mid-Lent Sunday, rose vestments are worn, flowers are permitted on the altar, and the organ is played.” Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

This is the view of the altar from the choir loft of our church.

Monday, 03/20/2023: Posted photo — Hike.

Some photos from my weekly Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain. It is getting lighter as we start our hike. Soon no headlamp will be needed.

Tuesday, 03/21/2023: Posted photo — Sunflower.

A sunflower that I saw today while I was out shopping. Tuesday night is my shopping night.

Wednesday, 03/22/2023: Posted photo — Umpqua River Lighthouse.

From the website: https://oregonisforadventure.com/oregon-lighthouses/#:~:text=Umpqua%20River%20Lighthouse,lighthouse%20on%20the%20Oregon%20coast. “The Umpqua River Lighthouse was the first lighthouse on the Oregon coast. To this day, you are still able to climb to the top of it while also learning more about the area’s history. It is still operational and has only recently switched over from bulbs to LEDs to keep it lower maintenance. Once you reach the top, you are even able to take a look inside the working light.

The lighthouse a vibrant history, Before it was placed on the bluff on the entrance to Winchester Bay, it was commissioned along the beach of the Umpqua River in 1857. It was then moved less than 10 years later.”

This is a photo of inside the lighthouse I took a few years ago during one of our west coast trips to visit family.

Thursday, 03/23/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise.

The weather is getting warmer. Rain has been predicted for today so I was happy to see the sunrise on my way to work.

During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere.

Friday, 03/24/2023: Post photo — Crater Lake National Park.

This is me standing in front of Wizard Island, a volcanic cinder cone, which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake. Photo taken by my wife.

At 1,943 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in America. Famous for its beautiful blue color, the lake’s water comes directly from snow or rain – there are no inlets from other water sources. Crater Lake was formed by the fall of a volcano. Mount Mazama, a 12,000-foot-tall volcano, erupted and collapsed approximately 7,700 years ago.

Saturday, 03/25/2023: Post photo — Loon.

From https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/overview, “The eerie calls of Common Loons echo across clear lakes of the northern wilderness. Summer adults are regally patterned in black and white. In winter, they are plain gray above and white below, and you’ll find them close to shore on most seacoasts and a good many inland reservoirs and lakes. Common Loons are powerful, agile divers that catch small fish in fast underwater chases. They are less suited to land, and typically come ashore only to nest.”

I have an interest in loons. When my wife and I went on our honeymoon almost 32 years ago, we were on a secluded island in a lake in northern Maine and were serenaded by loons.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 03/12/2023 to 03/18/2023

I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.” — Wayne Miller

More snow this week. Most of the snow this winter has fallen in the last month.

Sunday, 03/12/2023: Posted photo — Cubes.

Cubes come in different shapes and sizes. There are 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, and 7x7x7 that are used in completion. I don’t compete, but my son does. I can solve from the 2x2x2 to the 5x5x5. My wife and son tell me that I could do the larger cubes, but I do not feel the urge to do so. I am currently working on speeding up my time with a picture cube. One that you need to rotate the centers if they are not in the correct orientation.

For the record, my son’s best competition time for the 3x3x3, what most people think are the Rubik’s Cube, is single of 12.24 seconds and average of 14.64 seconds. The world record single is 3.47 seconds, and the world record average is 4.86 seconds. The average is out of five solves when they don’t count the fastest and slowest of the solves.

My time for the 3x3x3 is just about 1 minute 30 seconds.

Monday, 03/13/2023: Posted photo — Potatoes.

The potatoes are a starchy food and are a root vegetable native to the Americas. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Potatoes were a life-saving food source in early times because the vitamin C prevented scurvy. Another major nutrient in potatoes is potassium, an electrolyte which aids in the workings of our heart, muscles, and nervous system.

Tuesday, 03/14/2023: Posted photo — During the Storm.

Happy Pi Day!

Selfie on the trail.

Woke up this morning to a foot (0.3 m) of wet snow. Had planned to snowshoe into work this morning because of the predicted storm. I stayed on the main roads on my way into work since I know that there would be little to no cars, and that the Midstate Trail markers are difficult to see in the morning due to the blowing snow. Another foot (0.3 m) of snow fell during the day. I did snowshoe on the Midstate Trail on the way home since the trail markers are normally easier to see during the day. The markers in the section of the trail next to our house do not have reflectors on them, as they do in the more popular sections of the trail. The blazers were also difficult to see since they were faded, and snow covered so, and I went off trail. I know this section of the trail well, but with 24 inches (0.6 m) of new fallen snow, and many downed trees, it was difficult to follow. I sank about 20 inches (0.5 m) into the snow with my snowshoes on. Using my navigational skills, I was able to get safely back onto the trail.

Blazes (also known as trail markers) are usually placed at eye level – or slightly higher on trails that receive moderate snowfall – and frequently appear painted onto trees, rocks, or posts along the trail. For painted blazes, they generally are 2 inches wide by 6 inches tall.

Wednesday, 03/15/2023: Posted photo — Cleanup.

Here are a few photos of some of the paths that were created. As the cleanup continues, the snow is slowly melting making the snow heavier and heavier. Making straight edges in the pathways was easy.

Thursday, 03/16/2023: Posted photo — Roof Load.

Cleanup from the storm started yesterday and continues today. One of the things I need to do today is shovel off my roof. I have over 2 feet (0.6 m) of snow on my roof and need to get the weight off. The roof in front of my house is slightly sloped, not like the rest of the house. Here are some photos of before, during, and after I shoveled off a section of our roof.

Friday, 03/17/2023: Post photo — Sunshine.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Took a photo of the sun today. Why did I do this? I did it because I did not see much of it this week. The section of the building in this photo give it a little contrast.

Saturday, 03/18/2023: Post photo — Sundog.

Sundogs are colored spots of light that develop due to the refraction of light through ice crystals. They are located approximately 22 degrees either left, right, or both, from the sun, depending on where the ice crystals are present. For the second day in a row, the sun was out. Today’s sun appearance was much longer than yesterday’s brief one.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 03/05/2023 to 03/11/2023

Today everything exists to end in a photograph.” — Susan Sontag

Some old and new photos this week.

Sunday, 03/05/2023: Posted photo — Traction.

With the newly fallen snow, winter hiking conditions are the best they have been all season. I have not used my crampons all year and decided to use them today. No particular reasons and I really did not need to use them. I just wanted to hike with them once this season.

Monday, 03/06/2023: Posted photo — Moon Beam.

The full moon tonight was given off this beam. I thought it was a reflection off my camera, but every photo I took of the moon tonight had these beams in them. This is a photo of the moon liking towards Boston.

Tuesday, 03/07/2023: Posted photo — Full Moon.

A full moon photo for March. The moon is my preferred subject and I am still working on getting the perfect moon photo.

Wednesday, 03/08/2023: Posted photo — Traditional Collection.

Last week I posted a photo of hour our neighbor collects sap. This is the traditional way to collect sap found elsewhere in town.

Thursday, 03/09/2023: Posted photo — Baseball.

The World Baseball Classic has started. Our family loves to watch baseball and our son gives me updated every day. I took a photo of the stitches of this baseball for macro photography practice.

Friday, 03/10/2023: Post photo — Golf.

I took this photo during the summer. This is an HDR photo of a local golf course. I did not know what to post today, but I saw golf on my computer screen and went back to this photo.

Saturday, 03/11/2023: Post photo — Inspection Station.

Time to get one of our cars safety inspected. All our cars had the same month for inspection. They are now spread out, once a month for the next three months.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 02/26/2023 to 03/04/2023

To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.” — Ansel Adams

Thank you John once again for my quote.

Sunday, 02/26/2023: Posted photo — Collecting Sap.

After our warm week in Florida, we came home to snow. I was going to take and post this photo snow or no snow. Our neighbor taps our sugar maple tree every year and gives us some of the syrup. The general rule of thumb is that it takes 40 parts maple sap to produce 1 part maple syrup. This translates into 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon or syrup (or 10 gallons of sap for one quart of syrup). This estimate is dependent on the sugar content of your sap.

Monday, 02/27/2023: Posted photo — Welcome Home.

This is the snow on the railing to our deck. The snow was heavy and icy. I did not hike tonight so that I could clean up after the storms that took place when we were on vacation. Once I had the technique of getting the is pick under the ice and snow, cleanup was relatively easy to do. It just took a few hours to complete.

Tuesday, 02/28/2023: Posted photo — Driveway.

Our neighbor’s driveway cleaned up after last week’s snow storms.

Wednesday, 03/01/2023: Posted photo — Stone.

This stone is at the end our our neighbor’s driveway. He has stones on both sides of his driveway so that its location can be found easily since his house cannot be seen from the street.

Thursday, 03/02/2023: Posted photo — Next Storm.

This photo was taken Saturday and not Thursday. We had almost a foot of wet, heavy snow fall overnight. The snow has stopped. We normally go out a few time during a storm to shovel, but since this storm happened overnight, we did not. I do not have a snow blower or a plow. I like to get my exercise by shoveling snow.

Friday, 03/03/2023: Post photo — Path.

Snowshoe path created by my snowshoes. Here is a photo of my snowshoes. The heal strap was fixed a few weeks ago, so this was the first opportunity for me to use them.

Saturday, 03/04/2023: Post photo — Finally On Snowshoes.

Today is the one year anniversary of my ankle surgery. Last week I posted a photo of my feet in the ocean. This week I am posting a photo of my feet in my snowshoes. This is the first time in my snowshoes all winter. Between the weather, travel, work, and a broken snowshoe, this was the first opportunity of me to get out. It was a short hike with no complications. Off to some longer hikes, as long as the snow stays a little longer.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 02/19/2023 to 02/25/2023

All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.” — Richard Avedon

Photos for this week. On vacation (or holiday) depending the country your are reading this blog in. Looked forward to a relaxing week in the warmth.

Sunday, 02/19/2023: Posted photo — Flight Pattern.

Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 62, f/1.8, 1/678 s, 7 mm.

During the ride down to our vacation destination, I noticed the contrail left by at plane as it was turning. Contrails or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth’s surface. A little later, I noticed that a plane took a turn and flew in front of another plane. I took my phone out, since I was the navigator at this time, and took a photo.

Monday, 02/20/2023: Posted photo — Shell.

Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 66, f/1.8, 1/593 s, 7 mm.

We reached our destination and took a walk on the beach. I took a photo of this shell because of its color. The beach was full of white shells. I did not see many shells that were dark. This shell is a common cockle shell. The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a species of edible saltwater clam.

Tuesday, 02/21/2023: Posted photo — Under the Pier.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 22 mm.

The Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier is nearly a quarter of a mile long and offers visitors close-up views of the Atlantic Ocean. The pier was closed for years because Hurricane Matthew wiped out part of the pier in 2016, then Hurricane Irma damaged it some more in 2017. Unfortunately the pillions on the pier do not make a good of a photo as the last pier did. At least this one might hold up to hurricanes.

Wednesday, 02/22/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7, 1/8000 s, 300 mm.

Woke up early this morning to take a photo of the sunrise. Drove down to the pier to get this photo. The cloud cover was sparse, but the sunrise was wonderful. Each sunrise is different.

Tonight, while visiting family members, I saw the moon and Jupiter. Later on, I saw the moon, Jupiter, and Venus. I took out my camera and took a series of shots just after sunset. These photos are ones I took a little later at night at night time. These photos are handheld photos.

Thursday, 02/23/2023: Posted photo — Lizard.

Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 42, f/1.8, 1/234 s, 7 mm.

Don’t know if it is a brown anole or a Florida scrub lizard. Someone can tell me. All I know is that this little guy wanted to go with us to the beach today.

Friday, 02/24/2023: Post photo — Leaving the Nest.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 300 mm.

We watched this osprey flying around and gathering sticks for its nest. They move so quickly. This was the best photo that I got of the osprey. This photo was taken in Cradle Creek Preserve. Cradle Creek Preserve consists of 36 acres, purchased on August 9, 2001 by the City of Jacksonville Beach and the city of Jacksonville. The City of Jacksonville Beach holds title to the property. It a very peaceful place in the middle of the hustle of the beaches.

Saturday, 02/25/2023: Post photo — Feet in Ocean.

Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 42, f/1.8, 1/4049 s, 7 mm.

As my vacation winds down, and the snow and ice falling up north, I took this opportunity to put my feet in the ocean. With temperatures in the 80s F here and in the teens up north, just relaxing for one more day.

Here is a gull and a Royal Tern that was hanging out with us on the beach.

I also took a walk in a nature preserve and saw this great blue heron. It was going to be a quick walk so I only had my cell phone. Watched it for about 15 minutes and it did not catch a fish. I do like the reflection and the shadow.

Back to the cold weather and reality.

Went back the next day and this egret fished successfully caught a fish, a small fish, but a fish none the less.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 02/05/2023 to 02/11/2023

“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.” — Diane Arbus

Photos for this week. I this week will be mostly a silent week.

Sunday, 02/05/2023: Posted photo — Richardson-Zlogar Cabin.

The AMC Worcester Chapter took had a leaders hike to the Richardson-Zlogar Cabin. We had great views of Mt. Grace (MA), Mt. Ascutney (VT), Mt. Monadnock (NH), and Mt. Wachusett (MA). It was a wonderful hike with hiking leaders, both experienced and Leaders-in-Training. There were many trees down on the trails due to recent heavy snow and ice storms. Here is a line to mor information on the cabin: https://newenglandtrail.org/overnight-sites/richardson-zlogar-cabin/.

Monday, 02/06/2023: Posted photo — Summit.

Standing on the summit of Wachusett Mountain during my weekly Monday night hike.

Tuesday, 02/07/2023: Posted photo — Full Moon.

It has been a while since I took a photo of the moon. I do not think I did so bad for not practicing for a while.

Wednesday, 02/08/2023: Posted photo — Look up.

Snow sliding off the Richaradson-Zlogar cabin. From my hike on Sunday.

Thursday, 02/09/2023: Posted photo — Roses.

Some roses to brighten up the day. I started dating my wife 35 years ago this week.

Friday, 02/10/2023: Post photo — Sunrise.

Going back into the archives for the last two photos of this week. This is from a trip a few years ago to Jacksonville Beach Florida.

Saturday, 02/11/2023: Post photo — Double Arch.

One of my favorite photos from Arches National Park. This is Double Arch. I like it because you the people in this photo give it some scale.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 01/29/2023 to 02/04/2023

“I wish that all of nature’s magnificence, the emotion of the land, the living energy of place could be photographed.” — Annie Leibovitz

Here is a variety of photos for this week to memorialize this week.

Sunday, 01/29/2023: Posted photo — I Can Breath.

The temperature is going to drop at weeks end. To keep our house heated properly, I cleaned out the stack to out wood stove. Over the last week, we were burning more wood than normal to keep the house warm. This created more creosote than normally produced since we were burning low, warm, fires to keep the how warm during the power outages.

Monday, 01/30/2023: Posted photo — Turkey Tracks.

During one of my walks today, I saw these turkey tracks. Looking at this photo now, I wish I would have put something down to show the relative size of these tracks. They do have a very big gait.

Tuesday, 01/31/2023: Posted photo — Blocking Clouds.

There is a comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), or the green comet, in our solar system. For most days, there has been cloud cover when you could see it. Today was the day I was attempting to see it, but once again, there was cloud cover. I will try again in the next few days, but it will be cold.

Wednesday, 02/01/2023: Posted photo — Splitting Tools.

Preparation for the artic blast, I was taking some of our firewood and splitting it into smaller pieces to extend our supply of wood. We are in no danger of running out of firewood, we still have a few cords remaining. This is a photo of our awl and the hammer I use to split wood.

Thursday, 02/02/2023: Posted photo — Sponsor.

It has been a few since we had a polar plunge. I did a plunge called Plunge for Preemies, to which I was a sponsor. This is my photo company name next to the remembrance of my aunt and one of my cousins. We had a preemie back in 1992, one of my other cousin’s children lost a child and started to work for Project Sweet Peas. I witness the plunge the first year and then took it every year from the start to 2020 when the plunge was canceled.

Friday, 02/03/2023: Post photo — Temperature Dropping.

At the start of the day, the temperature was in the high to middle 20 degrees F. At the end of the day, the temperature was -14 degrees F. That is not as cold as it was on the summit of Mount Washington. The ambient temperature was -45 degrees F with the lowest wind chill every recorded on earth, -108 degrees F. I hope nobody was hiking on the mountain last night.

Saturday, 02/04/2023: Post photo — Fire.

Keeping warm today as the temperatures raise slightly above zero degrees F.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 01/22/2023 to 01/28/2023

“I take photographs to hold on to the ephemeral, capture chance, keep an image of something that will disappear, gestures, attitudes, objects that are reminders of our brief lives. The camera picks them up and freezes them at the very moment that they disappear.” — Sabine Weiss

Thank you, John, for another quote to use this week. If anyone else has quotes for me to use, please pass them along.

This was a strange week for photos. We had snow Sunday through Thursday and no power most of the week. All these photos are from this week on the correct day. Many looks similar because the weather was the same most of the week. The wet heavy snow on the trees looked wonderful.

Sunday, 01/22/2023: Posted photo — House in the Snow.

As this week began, we had snow on the ground and were close to losing power. It was a black and white world with the trees and sky being white and the roads being black. I took a photo of this house to show that the world still had color. The red door just pops out from the white world around it.

Monday, 01/23/2023: Posted photo — Round Meadow Dam.

One of my favorite locations to photograph, the dam at the end of Round Meadow Pond. Today the dam and the falls looked spectacular. I was pleased by the amount of water going over the dam. I was glad it was not a trickle. A trickle of water over the dam would not take a good photo.

Tuesday, 01/24/2023: Posted photo — Dam at the Old Mill.

This is one of my favorite photos that I have taken over the years. I think it is because of the framing and the snow on the conifer trees. What do you think?

Wednesday, 01/25/2023: Posted photo — Wachusett Mountain.

I had to go home this morning to start our generator. We lost power for the third time in three days. It was out most of the night and the morning. I had to start it so that our refrigerator could still be working. I have a dual fuel generator and the gas side does not work so I can only use the propane side. Need to get that fixed. I have run the gas side this summer just to keep everything working.

Thursday, 01/26/2023: Posted photo — Walkway.

Back to the Old Mill to take more photos. I intended to take photos of the ducks and geese in the duck pond but decided to take a photo of the walkway since it still had snow on it.

Friday, 01/27/2023: Post photo — Droplet.

The weather is warming up after the storms have passes. I practice droplet photos every year. I get better by the end of the winter.

Saturday, 01/28/2023: Post photo — Lonely Tree.

I have a photographed this tree in the Leominster State Forest several times. When I walked out to this tree, I had to step over many branches that have fallen during the storm. On my way back from taking this photo, I had to dodge a branch that was falling. I heard it break off the tree and luckily a branch slowed the fall so I could get out of the way.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 01/15/2023 to 01/21/2023

“To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.“ – Susan Sontag

Thank you, John, for this week’s quote.

Photos from this week. We had snow for most of the week so most of my photos are of snow.

Sunday, 01/15/2023: Posted photo — Hiking.

As you have seen over the years, I like to hike. Last week I gave a lesson on night hiking. This week some of those people who took my class went hiking with me this week.

Monday, 01/16/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise.

With the storm coming in this week, the sky was a great color read this morning. I saw the glow of the red clouds this morning, took out my camera and took a photo of the red sky.

Tuesday, 01/17/2023: Posted photo — Mailbox.

After the storm, this black mailbox showed great contrast with the newly fallen white snow.

Wednesday, 01/18/2023: Posted photo — Wood.

I have shown you this wood in the past. Today I took a photo of this wood with the new fallen snow on it. This wood has been seasoned for about a year now, so it is time to split is and burn it.

Thursday, 01/19/2023: Posted photo — Hidden Shed.

With all the new snow, this shed is hidden by the bending trees. Once again, the contrast between the wood and the snow called me to take this photo.

Friday, 01/20/2023: Post photo —Driveway.

A photo of out neighbor’s driveway. I just love the look of their driveway after snow.

Saturday, 01/21/2023: Post photo — Lamp.

One of the solar lamps that light up the walkway in front of our hours.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 01/08/2023 to 01/14/2023

“When people ask me what equipment I use – I tell them my eyes.” — Anonymous

One of the things that I like to do is to turn some of my photos into posters. Here is a few of the photos that I have turned into posters over the years.

Sunday, 01/08/2023: Posted photo — Lake Louise.

Lake Louise is located in Banff National Park, Canada’s oldest national park, in the Canadian province of Alberta. It sits at an elevation of 5,679 ft (1,731 m) making it Canada’s highest permanent settlement. The lake extends northeast for around 1.5 mi (2.4 km) and is around 0.75 mi (1.2 km) at its widest point. The Lake Louise area is separated in two – the larger community is known as Lake Louise Village and is directly accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, while Upper Lake Louise is directly next to the lake itself and contains the famous Lake Louise Chateau, along with a host of incredible hiking, biking, and horse-riding trails. https://adventures.com/canada/attractions/lakes/lake-louise/

Monday, 01/09/2023: Posted photo — Bubble Net Feeding.

Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative hunting strategy that occurs within a group of whales. It is a complex, highly synchronized set of behaviors that involve communication and cooperation, demonstrating signs of high social intelligence.

How it works

To bubble-net feed, whales dive deep below schools of fish and use bubbles blown from their blowholes to stun and trap fish closer to the surface. One whale generally leads the effort followed by the rest of the group. The leader will usually be responsible for blowing the bubbles and the other members will surround the fish, following them to the surface by swimming in spiral patterns to keep the fish trapped.

Humpback whales are known as “gulpers”, which means they feed by leaving their mouths open, swallowing everything in their paths before closing their mouths, pushing water out through their baleen plates and swallowing the critters (usually fish and small crustaceans) they caught. During bubble net feeding, the whales swimming toward the surface will have their mouths open and gulp fish from the school they have corralled.

Tuesday, 01/10/2023: Posted photo — Wellesley Glacier.

Wellesley Glacier is a 4-mile long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends east for 4 mi to a lagoon on the west bank of College Fjord, 3.7 mi southwest of College Point and 54 mi west of Valdez. It was named for Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition. https://alaska.guide/glacier/wellesley-glacier

Wednesday, 01/11/2023: Posted photo — Wine Barrels.

For over a century, five generations of the Kunde family have farmed our 1,850-acre estate in the heart of Sonoma Valley. Our winemaking mission is to carry on that tradition by crafting elegant, estate-grown, sustainably-farmed wines with a real sense of place—beautifully balanced and expressive of our dramatic vineyard landscape. https://www.kunde.com/

I took this photo when we attended a wedding at the winery. The couple rented out the vineyard for the occasion.

Thursday, 01/12/2023: Posted photo — Glacier National Park.

Glacier National Park is a 1,583-sq.-mi. wilderness area in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, with glacier-carved peaks and valleys running to the Canadian border. It’s crossed by the mountainous Going-to-the-Sun Road. Among more than 700 miles of hiking trails, it has a route to photogenic Hidden Lake. Other activities include backpacking, cycling and camping. Diverse wildlife ranges from mountain goats to grizzly bears. https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

Friday, 01/13/2023: Post photo — Bear at Curry Village.

Curry Village is a resort in Mariposa County, California in Yosemite National Park within the Yosemite Valley. A rockfall in 2008 damaged a number of structures, and about one third of visitor units were closed because of risk. https://www.nps.gov/places/000/curry-village.htm

There was a fisher cat next to our tent site. It hid when this bear walked by. The ranger asked up if we were able to get a look at the number on the bear’s tag. Yosemite National Park is the only park that I know of that a bear will open the door of your car for you if they see something shinny in it or if they smell anything that might be food.

Saturday, 01/14/2023: Post photo — Royal Arches.

The Royal Arches refers to a cliff containing natural occurring granite exfoliation arches, located below North Dome and rising above Yosemite Valley, in Yosemite National Park, California. The Royal Arches are located on the north side of the valley, northeast of the Ahwahnee Hotel. http://www.supertopo.com/rock-climbing/Yosemite-Valley-Royal-Arches-Area-Royal-Arches

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